Entrepreneurs' Organization

Who Plays Boss To The Boss?

For the man on a company payroll, the expression “It’s lonely at the top” evokes an image of a sad, solitary billionaire (and usually not much sympathy). For the man who is a self-employed entrepreneur, the phrase speaks to a simple reality of working life: When you sit at the top of the hierarchy, there’s no one to look up to, to seek advice from, to get criticism and feedback from. When you’re at the top, you make important decisions in a vacuum. And that can be very bad for business.

So where does the young entrepreneur turn to for professional guidance? There’s no better resource than those who have shared in and learned from similar experiences: other young entrepreneurs. Herein lie the origins of Entrepreneurs’ Organization, an invitation-only global network of self-made professionals. "EO" members meet regularly, through local chapters, to talk shop and provide each other with the support that the boss normally would.

AskMen sat down with Stephan Pinheiro of EO’s Montreal chapter to discuss how the organization works. The first topic was EO's newest offering: the Member Exchange service.

Entrepreneurs' Organization

What are the services that EO offers its members?

A service that we just introduced is the Member Exchange, which is our peer referral service. It's not just any peer referral service, as it has been optimized specifically for independent professionals... think of a finely-tuned Facebook for entrepreneurs!

The Member Exchange service is very interesting. You call the service up or write an e-mail where you present the question that you’re looking to have answered. Then that question is broadcast to all those people who may be equipped to provide the answer. We determine who these people are based on their fields of interest or knowledge, which they would have communicated with us when they first joined EO.

I saw the value of the Member Exchange firsthand when I had a business opportunity that was in a completely different field than the one I work in. I wrote in to the service and received three replies: one from Europe and two from the U.S. In response to my question, two of the responses were a resounding “No,” and the third was “Yes, proceed, but only under these conditions.”

The advice I was seeking was regarding an idea to launch a second business. Today I am very glad that I requested this advice and then took it.

The value of the Member Exchange isn’t restricted to professional situations. I have heard stories of people with medical issues in their family that were able to access world-class doctors and treatment through the system — access that they wouldn't have normally had. In this sense, the Member Exchange is a very natural addition to our organization, in that it brings together the personal and the professional. Most guys strive to keep their personal and professional lives separate. At EO, just the opposite is encouraged.

This is one of the main reasons that EO is so successful. Beyond offering the value of peer sharing, support and networking, the organization helps entrepreneurs find a way to blend and balance their personal and professional lives. Indeed, the most successful entrepreneurs often let their personality and values permeate their businesses. And this blending of the professional with the personal is built into the group discussion format...

Yes. The Entrepreneurs’ Organization is broken down into regional chapters, and each chapter is broken down into forums. The forums are usually made up of between 6 to 10 people, and your forum becomes, like… well, you could even call it your corporate family. These are the people that you share anything and everything with. And everything you share with them is extremely confidential. This is important, because I believe the context of these discussions needs to make people feel comfortable. It has to be comfortable because in these discussions you don’t give advice, but you share your own experiences.

Stephan explains how the idea for EO actually emerged from a tragedy...